New to Surround sound....Help me narrow the choices

Hello all !

I'm new to the forum and after lurikng around here for a few days I found it to be a very informative place. So I joined up to ask you guys
a few questions before I take the plunge and purchase a surround sound system. I'm currently having a family room built in the back of my home and the size will be 18 x 14 with a regular 8 foot ceiling. I was considering to buy a Home theater in a box as I am on a budget
of around 500 dollars. I would be able to spend more but the only reason I'm getting this room right now is because a tree fell on my house during Sandy so we figured since it's being worked on now would be a good time to have the extra work done. However I had to buy a new car and replace many other things besides so I can't go as crazy as I would like to.

I was considering to get a Yamaha in a box system as it fits right in that price range of just under $ 500. I went to Best Buy and tried it out and I thought it sounded pretty good compared to the others in that range but I was thinking that I would want to replace the speakers for slightly better ones in the future but why spend extra money later if I could find something that costs slightly more and will last me a good many years now.

So long story short I love listening to Music so this is an important aspect of a system to me.I also do PS3 and a regular dvd player with some sort of flat screen TV that will be purchased shortly in the future.I'm buying 100 feet of Monoprice 14 gauge in wall rated speaker cable that will be installed in the walls. Besides the cable and some sort of mounts to put the four speakers on the walls do I need any other accessories ?



I've read rave reviews about the Energy Take Classic 5.1 speaker set and would be willing to splurge for them and a separate entry level receiver if people thought they were better than what Yamaha gives you for speakers in the box.
So what I really need to know is should I just get the Yamaha in the box or would spending a little extra for the Energy Take Classics and a receiver be a better investment ? And besides the wire and the system what else do I need to have on hand for the installation ?

Thanks for your help !!!!!!!!

I think I'm leaning on the Energy Classic Take 5.1 speaker set for the price they are the best I can get all at once without much hassle. I just need to get a receiver for around 200 dollars to go with it. Anything more than that and the wife will be upset.

Any suggestions for a cheap reciever to go with that would be great. I would like to have hdmi ports for TV PS3 and DVD player. I don't need too many bells and whistles beyond that. I guess a port for I pod.

Monoprice seems to have all the little things covered however their speaker wall mounts don't seem to have the best reviews. Not sure how heavy the energy speakers are though.
Edited by Giant Squid - 1/3/13 at 12:25pm